Celebrity

Selena Gomez on Her Support Group: 'I'd Rather Be Around Women Than Men'

The singer talks her evolution – and strikes some serious poses! – for Refinery29

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Published on October 13, 2015 06:15 PM

Selena Gomez has taken on lupus and body shamers – and she credits a special support system with helping her rise above it all.

The 23-year-old singer, whose new album Revival is inspired by her triumphs, opened up about her love for Taylor Swift, 25, and her close roommates and cousin in a new interview with Refinery29.

“I have a lot of friends in the business, but at the end of the day, [these four women] are who I call crying,” said Gomez, who recently revealed she underwent chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lupus.

She also doesn’t have to look far to find inspiring role models in Hollywood. While Jennifer Aniston invited Gomez to her home for pizza night, Kerry Washington gave the singer her phone number in case she needed a confidant.

“I treasure these women,” Gomez said. “I’d rather be around women than men. I think they are interesting, complicated and beautiful.”

As Gomez prepares for her Revival world tour, she’s already shut out the negative noise, including criticism of her bikini body earlier this year.

“It was appalling,” Gomez said in the interview. “I had never experienced that before. I was sad. I was angry. I feel all of it. But I also got motivated.”

She added, “I don’t want to become little or hurt or a victim. I want to be strong for girls. I just want them to know that there is an option of standing up for yourself.”

Embracing her sexuality in her new album cover and “Good for You” music video is part of turning the page.

“It’s not something where I’m like, let me glorify what I do in the bedroom,” she explained. “But I think I have a very healthy perspective on my sexuality. It’s part of being an adult, and I’m still figuring out how to be one of those, too.”

She isn’t the only 20-something female who has made the transition from former Disney star to pop powerhouse.

“Everyone has found their identity in a really interesting way,” Gomez said of Miley Cyrus, 22, and Demi Lovato, 23. “We didn’t come out as these robots that looked and dressed the same. We had to go through our own s—. At the end of the day, it’s respecting every female artist’s choice in how she expresses herself, because that’s what she wants.”